Votto currently is on a minor league rehab assignment, his final step in his return from knee surgery.

Votto had arthroscopic surgery July 17 to repair torn cartilage in his left knee and was expected to miss 3-4 weeks. He was close to returning when he re-injured the knee during a sliding drill on Aug. 8. That setback resulted in another minor procedure to remove a piece of loose cartilage.

Votto was enjoying an MVP-caliber season before the injury, hitting .342 with 14 homers, 49 RBIs, a .465 on-base percentage and a .604 slugging percentage in 86 games.

The Reds have gone 30-14 without Votto and have increased their NL Central lead from one game to eight games.